


A Risk That May Cost Your Life

by ericsonclan



Series: Cherry Blossoms and Muted Voices [14]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Corruption, F/F, Friendship, Gen, Interrogation, Police, Yakuza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26254078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: With eyes watching Clementine's every move, she needs to find Louis before it's too late.
Relationships: Louis & Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running), Prisha/Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: Cherry Blossoms and Muted Voices [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863499
Kudos: 3





	A Risk That May Cost Your Life

**Author's Note:**

> (by Linnea)

Clementine sat down in her chair, a look of defeat plastered on her face. Twice she had found their trail and twice she had failed to bring the politician’s son back. Weeks had passed since the day that Louis had thrown himself out of the car and ran back to the yakuza. Yet those moments never left the young detective’s mind. Why did that yakuza care about Louis so much? Why did he seem just as desperate to get back to her? Clementine brushed her hand over her face, taking a deep breath before her eyes fell upon the map once more. A small seed of annoyance bloomed within her gut. She would find them again, she knew she could do it. But how many more times would she have to chase them to finally be done with this case?

Clementine leaned forward to grab a pencil when she felt eyes upon her once again. They were constant and unnerving, never disappearing from her for more than a few moments. When she had first started the case she had only felt a few odd stares here and there, but now it was almost suffocating. She looked over at the file on the table which held Mary’s name. Everything in her file pointed to her being a smart and reliable cop yet she had aimed the gun at Louis and fired. She had intentionally harmed him and based on the expression on her face afterwards that was not where the gun was originally aimed for. As soon as they had gotten back Clementine had reported this to the chief, but he didn’t seem alarmed by it, simply promising to take care of it. Now weeks later nothing had happened. Mary wasn’t taken off the case or given any sort of consequence to her actions.

His inaction made it clear; there were dirty cops on this force leading all the way to the top. Clementine felt her skin crawl at the realization. To think that she had worked towards her dream of becoming a cop, a protector of justice, to simply be put with people who were in it for the wrong reasons, who would hurt innocent people for their own gain... Clementine felt her stomach turn, her hands curling into fists on the table. _Why the hell did I work so hard to become an officer of the law?_ She felt powerless. She needed to keep her head down for now - all eyes were on her. But that wouldn’t stop her from bringing Louis home. She would make sure that she was there, that he was brought in safely and that no harm came to him while he was returned to his father.

Part of her wondered whether Violet was more innocent than the chief had led on. If there was a chance to ask, would she take it? Clementine shook her head and returned her gaze to the map. That didn’t matter for now. Only in the moment would she decide what the right decision was. Her eyes scanned the map. Scribbles and circles covered the different towns and locations on it. It wouldn’t be long until she found their trail again. And this time she would get the politician’s son to safety, no matter what. 

\----

Nothing felt truly safe. After the day that Louis was taken by the police, their situation was made crystal clear. They could never go into places alone. All three moved as one unit, watching each other’s backs as they spent cold nights outside the villages. Never staying for more than a day, always moving. Violet wanted to create as much distance as she could from Okutama, hoping that she and her companions hadn’t left a trace behind. After Okutama, Prisha also seemed more on edge. Violet couldn’t blame her; she felt the same. Seeing the blood trickle down Louis’ arm, the dried tears on his face... It made Violet’s heart hurt, the guilt eating inside her every day the trio traveled. But she also knew this tension was draining all of them of any hope or peace that they once held onto. So one morning when they had decided to stop through a nearby town and gather some supplies before continuing on, Violet decided it was time.

“We haven’t told stories in a while,” Violet looked back at her two companions. Prisha looked up in surprise, her hand never leaving the hilt of her katana while further back Louis’ eyes lit up with a look Violet hadn’t seen in a while. Happiness. It caused the ex-yakuza’s lips to tug into a small smile. 

“My apologies, it seems I have run short of them,” Prisha looked at Violet for a single moment then returned to her attentive gaze on the road ahead. Louis jogged up next to the samurai and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving a reassuring smile. 

“That’s fine,” Violet strode forward, her eyes still paying attention to their surroundings. “I figure it’s about time for me to share one.”

Prisha’s eyes widened in surprise before a smile appeared on her lips. “ I was wondering if we’d ever hear one of your tales.”

Louis did a little jump, a happy sound escaping his lips. When his feet returned to the dirt road, he seemed excited, a small skip in his step. Violet didn’t bother to look back, trying to summon all of her courage and hope that her storytelling wasn’t as ass as she thought it was. 

“Alright, I’m gonna tell the tale of the bamboo cutter. Long ago in the countryside of Japan lived an old couple.” Violet started to tell her story, not really giving any dramatics to the tale that Prisha or Louis would but her storytelling was captivating all the same. Her gentle, soft voice seemed to draw her companions in as she continued to tell about how the old man had come across some shiny bamboo one day. How when he cut inside it there was a child the size of his thumb and that his wife and him had decided to raise her as their own. 

“They named her Nayotake no Kaguya-hime and after that day every time the old man cut bamboo he found gold. Soon they were rich and Kaguya-hime grew into a beautiful and fair maiden.” Violet glanced back at her companions and saw how invested Louis was in the story, so much so that he seemed to have failed to notice that he was lagging behind. Prisha also seemed intrigued by the story though the look in her eyes gave away the fact that she had heard this tale before. Yet the content smile on her face made it clear that she was enjoying the ex-yakuza’s version of it. 

“So anyway, her old man wanted to keep her hidden from the outside world because of how pretty she was, but it wasn’t long before word spread and a shit ton of suitors showed up. She didn’t want any of them so she set up impossible tasks for them to do.” Violet went on about the tasks that these suitors had to face and how they all failed. How the emperor had fallen for her yet she still refused. “On nights Kaguya-hime would stare up at the sky and see the moon. Whenever the full moon appeared she would cry. Her adoptive parents got worried and asked what’s wrong.” Violet’s gaze was still focused ahead, noticing that they had made it a fair way into the town. Just a bit further in and they should reach the shops. “She started to get more crazy and shit. Her behavior made her parents worry until she was forced to tell them,” Violet paused for dramatic effect before looking behind her. “That her real home was the moon.” 

Louis’ mouth fell in shock at the reveal while Prisha seemed somewhat saddened by the tale though she soon smiled at the ex-yakuza. Violet continued to look at them for a moment, a warm, content feeling filling her heart as she saw the two people that mattered most to her safe and happy. 

That’s when she noticed the change in both of her companion’s expressions. Both had deep fear within their eyes, Prisha’s holding a depth of hatred as well. Violet looked confused until she heard the click on a gun, causing her to look forward. Immediately stopping in her tracks, she saw the young detective who had been both in Shizawa and Okutama. Her gun was pointed directly at Violet's heart.

“Don’t move,” The young detective warned, her expression serious and her aura commanding. Violet knew that her threat had weight behind it. “Put your hands up, slowly.”

Violet followed her instructions, hoping that she could still get Prisha and Louis away from this. Her mind spun as she tried her best to come up with a plan. 

“We have this whole town surrounded. So don’t even think of running.” 

Violet felt her heart drop to the bottom on her feet at the news. Was there really no hope now? Suddenly a chill shot through Violet’s spine. A deadly aura was radiating off the samurai behind her. She didn’t even have to bother looking to know that Prisha had the intent to attack. Unfortunately for them, it seemed like the young cop had picked up her motives as well. Moving her gun to the right, she aimed it at Prisha’s head. Violet felt her heart stop.  
“Wait,” Her voice drew over the detective’s attention as she moved in between the two, returning the gun’s target back to herself. “It’s me that you’ve been after. She has nothing to do with it.”

“Violet, what-” Prisha had a worried expression on her face that only deepened when Violet looked back at her with a forced smile. 

The detective studied Violet’s face for a moment. “I’m going to give you two minutes to explain why the hell you took the politician’s son. If I even think I hear a lie, I’ll shoot.”

Violet took a deep breath. She would have to choose her words very carefully. “Five months ago the Sato Clan kidnapped Louis and I was tasked to get information out of him. So I did. But when-” Violet stopped when a loud thud emitted from behind the detective, causing her to crumple to the ground. Louis stood behind her, his hands shaking as they held a wok. “Louis, what the fuck? Why did you do that?” Violet hissed.

_To protect you. I did the right thing._

Violet’s eyes widened before they fell to the ground. “No, you did the wrong thing.” Violet hissed under her breath.

“What are we going to do?” Prisha walked forward, her hand still protectively hovering over the katana. “She said the whole town was surrounded.”

“Shit,” Violet’s eyes darted around the area, hoping to find a good place to hide. They fell upon what looked to be an empty house. At least she hoped it was.“Help me get her in there,” Violet motioned with her head over to the building. She grabbed the gun from the detective’s hand and tucked it away in her kimono coat. Louis picked up the detective’s feet while Violet grabbed her shoulders. The two awkwardly moved through the alleyway and into the door that Prisha held open. Prisha then moved forward to check the house. 

“It appears to be empty, I also found this.” Prisha held out some rope. Violet looked at it for a second then grabbed it. Her eyes glanced back at the detective whose head was rolled to the side. They needed to make sure she didn’t get back to the other police and to see if there was any truth behind her words. Violet silently tied up the detective against a wooden beam. Louis didn’t seem happy by the events playing out before him, but he was too scared to oppose it. Violet grabbed a chair and sat in front of their prisoner, waiting impatiently for her to wake up.

\----

Clementine’s eyes struggled to flutter open. She let out a groan of pain when she felt a constant throbbing on the back of her head. Last thing she remembered was pointing the gun at the yakuza, a sharp hit to the back of her head and then…. Nothing. As her eyes slowly readjusted to the world around her, she noticed that she was no longer in the town street but rather in some dusty, abandoned house. 

Blurry images swirled around in her eyes until they fully readjusted, revealing the yakuza sitting in a chair in front of her. To her right sitting on the floor was Louis who seemed frightened by Clementine, refusing to look at her. He kept looking up towards the yakuza with a worried expression. Clementine’s eyes searched the room, looking for the last member when they found her. The samurai was standing by the doorway leaning against the wall. Her right hand lay on top of her katana’s hilt. Her eyes challenged Clementine to try and do something. 

Clementine’s hands shifted around, feeling the rope dig into her skin. Her mind spun, trying to come up with a good game plan on how to survive this interrogation. She had heard stories of police who had been taken by the yakuza, hell she had seen enough pictures and read enough accounts in the files to know what she was in for. Her eyes fell upon Louis again. Perhaps her only chance stood with the politician’s son.

“Louis,” Clementine’s voice caused Louis to fall over with shock and hide behind the chair of the yakuza. She looked concerned for a moment about Louis before turning back to face Clementine. But the detective wasn’t stopping there. “Please, I’m here to help you. I’ve come to bring you back to your father.” 

Her words seemed to be having a strong effect on Louis, but not in the positive light that she had hoped. He cowered behind the chair so that she could barely see him. Clementine heard a scoff escape the samurai’s lips as she looked up from her post. “There is no use trying to appeal to Louis. After all, he’s the one who knocked you out.”

“What?” Clementine's eyes widened in shock. In the five months that he had been kidnapped, Louis must have developed Stockholm syndrome. “I don’t know what you’ve done to him, but-”

“I think we want the same thing,” The yakuza leaned back in her chair, an unreadable expression on her face. Slowly she reached into her kimono coat. Clementine’s heart started to pound in her ears; the fear of what may be pulled out to torture her consuming her stomach. But she didn’t dare show it. The yakuza pulled out Clementine’s gun and displayed it before her. Silently she undid the clip and took out the bullet from the chamber, catching it in her hand. It was at that moment that Clementine had noticed that the yakuza was missing her left pinky. But before she could look at it any longer the yakuza tucked away the bullets into her kimono coat and threw the empty gun towards Clementine. “To keep Louis safe.”

Clementine’s face scrunched in confusion at the yakuza’s words. How the hell could she say that? Clementine determinedly refocused her mind; it was obviously a trick to get her to drop her guard. “I wonder how you can say that with a straight face. After your clan kidnapped him.”

Those words seemed to hurt the yakuza. Her face may be unreadable yet her eyes held a level of sadness to them.“You’re not wrong. I was assigned to get information out of Louis.” The yakuza leaned back in her chair. “But after I got to know him, I realized something.”

Clementine looked at the yakuza, surprised how much she was talking and the fact that neither she nor the samurai had done anything so far to harm her. It made no sense. Her being a cop was no safety net. In fact, it made her a bigger, more vulnerable target to the different yakuza clans. “What would that be?”

“That there are good people in the world.” The yakuza brushed her hand over her missing digit. “I broke my ties with the clan that night and ran away with Louis. We’ve been on the run ever since.” 

Clementine searched the yakuza’s eyes cautiously and was shocked to see how genuine her words were. “But that doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s the truth. That’s what you wanted to hear when you pointed that gun at me,” She gestured over to the gun by Clementine’s feet. “The Sato Clan wants Louis back for their political gain and would be more than happy to see my corpse floating in some unnamed river.” Clementine noticed the sadness in both the samurai and Louis’ eyes at the ex-yakuza’s words. 

“Why tell me all of this?”

“I’m not going to answer that question,” The ex-yakuza leaned forward in her chair. “Not until you answer some of mine.”

“And what if I refuse?” Clementine shot back, locking eyes with the ex-yakuza.

“Then we’re gonna be here for a long fucking time.” 

Clementine looked lost. _That’s it? Just a threat of being tied up for a long time?_ No instruments of torture? No threats to her or her loved ones… not like she had any, but still. This girl was odd. Clementine remained quiet for a few minutes before giving a short nod. “Alright, but I get to ask one in return after answering one.” 

“She’s already given you more information than she needed to,” The samurai looked annoyed by the detective’s bold request. Clementine’s eyes were focused on the ex-yakuza, however, who seemed to be seriously considering the offer. All of a sudden Louis reached up and pulled on the sleeve of the ex-yakuza who glanced down at him. He quickly signed something to her and she nodded then walked over to the samurai. The two conversed for a moment, neither of them displaying much emotion, making it hard to read whether Clementine had gotten an upper hand in the situation. The ex-yakuza moved back and sat in her seat. “Okay, you have a deal. Let’s start with a simple one: Name?”

“Clementine Everett.”

The ex-yakuza nodded. “Violet, although I think you probably knew that from your files.”

“What's your goal in running away with Louis?” 

The detective’s words caused Violet’s eyes to widen before softening. “To keep the ones I care about safe. The two in this room.” Violet leaned back in her chair while she thought of her next question. “Is this town really surrounded by the police?”

“Yes.” Clementine’s answer made the samurai swear under her breath, her grip on her katana tightening. Louis looked absolutely terrified by the reply as well. Violet’s face looked pale as her face fell. 

“Shit,” Violet fidgeted with her fingers, her nerves rising within her. 

“I can make sure Louis gets back safely to his loved ones. His father and his friend Marlon.”

The name of his best friend made Louis stand up, his eyes large with shock. Violet looked up at Louis who shook his head violently and signed one single word.

“Lou,” Violet’s voice was soft. Louis shook his head again before pointing to the samurai and Violet and signed something. Clementine wished that she knew sign language yet their body language made it pretty clear what they were saying. 

“The police’s ties with the Sato Clan are too powerful. They’d kill Louis before he could even hope to get back to his dad.”

“Not if I bring him back.” Clementine’s words were spinning around in the ex-yakuza’s mind. But they were quickly thrown away. 

“We can’t let you leave.”

Clementine was about to speak up when the samurai lifted her hand. “Quiet.”

The four remained silent while they heard footsteps grow closer to their hiding place. Clementine wondered whether they were that of a cop and if she risked screaming if they could help her break free. Before she could decide however, voices appeared outside the house.

“Mary, honestly, if you had used your goddamn brain for a single minute, we could’ve been done with this.” Thomas’ voice sounded tight and frustrated.

“Shut up. If you hadn’t moved that politician’s brat out of the way, I could’ve killed him right then and there!” Mary snapped back at her partner.

“Yeah, what a brilliant idea,” Thomas’ voice dripped with sarcasm. “How would you explain that to Detective Everett? Or deal with the piece of shit that betrayed the Sato Clan?”

“Same way I’d have dealt with the brat. I’d get rid of them. It isn’t the first time a cop’s died in the line of fire and no one would miss the traitor.” Mary replied in a matter of fact tone. 

Prisha’s face hardened at those words, her knuckles growing whiter and whiter around her katana as the conversation continued. If they were the only two that had arrived in town, the samurai would cut them down without question. But revealing their hiding place put those she cared deeply for in more danger, not less.

“Now move your ass! We gotta search the eastern side of town. Maybe if we’re lucky, we can find them and be done with this whole mess of a case.”

With that the footsteps walked away, growing fainter and fainter until not a sound could be heard except the shallow breathing of the four in the room. Clementine felt sick to her stomach. She had hoped that she would be able to bring Louis back to the police unharmed, but it seemed like the corruption ran deeper and darker than she had feared. If she emerged right now with Louis, who was to say that either of them would make it out alive?

Violet’s eyes fell back upon the detective. It was clear any fighting chance she had to persuade them had perished when those words were spoken. Everyone in the room remained silent, unsure what to say. 

“I… I’ll go with you.” Clementine whispered. Her voice sounded defeated and sad. “I don’t have any choice. I can help you get past the police. I know too much anyway.” Clementine’s face fell, her eyes covered by a heavy shadow of emotion. 

Violet stared at Clementine then proceeded to rise up from her spot and take out her knife. Wordlessly she unsheathed it and cut through the binds. 

Violet,” The samurai stepped forward, unsure of the ex-yakuza’s decision. 

“Prisha, we don’t have a choice either.” Besides…” Violet looked back at Clementine for a moment, “She needs us as much as we need her right now.”

“And after that?” Prisha strode forward, her hand still on her katana. 

“I don’t know.”

Clementine cautiously stood up, her hand hovering over her gun for a second before taking it and reholstering it. It wasn’t a threat anyway. She had no bullets and nothing but a hope that these three were a better lot than what she had been stuck with before. Louis ran over towards Violet, his eyes glancing up for a second at Clem then returning to the ground. 

“Follow me,” Clementine walked forward, gently rubbing her wrists. The trio walked behind her and following her specific instruction made their way out of the town. The four snuck out of the town still feeling uneasy about the whole arrangement. Violet looked at Clementine for a minute. She seemed like a genuine and good person. But the ex-yakuza wasn’t sure if that was true or if she had been blessed with too many kind people along her journey. Time would tell. She hoped that her luck hadn’t run out and that this detective was another rare good in this world.


End file.
